Partial coating of frozen confection

Abstract

The present invention relates to an application assembly for applying coating onto confectionary products comprising a housing ( 5 ) comprising a product coating void ( 6 ) for receiving the confectionery product ( 9 ) to be coated, at least one receptacle ( 8 ), the receptacle being adapted to receive coating material and comprising a supply hole or holes ( 11 ) through which coating material may flow from the housing ( 5 ) and into the coating void ( 6 ) where it becomes transferred onto the product, and wherein each receptacle comprises one or more applicator members ( 10 ) to transfer 16 coating material onto the confectionery product and wherein the supply hole or holes ( 11 ) are formed within said receptacles, and wherein the one or more applicator member comprises a cavity ( 14 ) to allow accumulated coating material to be collected and stored when a product remains static in the product void. The invention also relates to a method for applying a partial coating to a confection products.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An application assembly for applying coating onto confectionary product, the application assembly comprising:
 a housing, the housing comprising: 
 a product coating void configured to receive the confectionery product to be coated; 
 at least one receptacle, the at least one receptacle configured to receive coating material and comprising one or more supply holes through which the coating material may flow from the housing and into the product coating void; 
 each of the at least one receptacle comprises one or more applicator members configured to transfer the coating material onto the confectionery product; 
 the one or more applicator members comprise a cavity configured to allow accumulated coating material to be collected and stored when the confectionary product remains static in the product coating void; and 
 wherein the one or more applicator members have a protruding edge configured to guide the flow of the coating material and create a borderline between coated and uncoated portions on a surface of the confectionary product, and the protruding edge has a shape that is triangular with concave or convex sides, tilted to a side, rectangular or combinations thereof. 
 
     
     
       2. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , further comprising an insert funnel configured to guide the insertion of the confectionary product in the product coating void. 
     
     
       3. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , comprising a coating reservoir positioned beneath the at least one receptacle configured for coating of an end of the confectionary product inserted into the product coating void. 
     
     
       4. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more applicator members are protruding towards the product coating void from an inner surface of the at least one receptacle. 
     
     
       5. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more application members have a surface facing towards the product coating void which is oriented parallel to a surface of the confectionary product to be coated when the confectionary product is inserted in the product coating void. 
     
     
       6. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the shape of the protruding edge has a shape that is triangular with concave or convex sides. 
     
     
       7. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein a number of the one or more applicator members in the at least one receptacle is 1 to 10. 
     
     
       8. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the one or more applicator members which are touching each other. 
     
     
       9. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , comprising spacer members protruding out from a surface of the one or more applicator members towards a center of the product coating void and having a thickness to bridge a space between the surface of the one or more applicator members and the surface of the confectionary product when the confectionary product is placed in the product coating void, the spacer members are configured to center the confectionary product in the middle of the product coating void. 
     
     
       10. The application assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the product coating void and the at least one receptacles comprise a bottom opening through which surplus coating material may flow. 
     
     
       11. An application assembly according to  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the one or more applicator members with a gap between each of the one or more applicator members.